Hi guys long time no see, this is a little bit of an impromptu post. I was just sitting here getting on with uni work and suddenly got the motivation to write a blog post, mainly because writing my blog is like my own little time of therapy, and i felt that by writing all my thoughts out would give me some clarity but also maybe help anybody else who's reading this, even if its not to feel alone.

On my last anxiety post i spoke about how grateful i was to experience something that makes me stronger, that makes me push harder for my dreams and really makes me who i am today, And while i try to stay positive about the whole thing i wanted to share my experience over the last few months.

In september i started uni, as I'm sure your all aware. Its honestly one of the best experience I've ever had, i feel so lucky that i can genuinely drive home each night and feel like I've learnt an amazing skill every single day. Im lucky that it doesn't feel like a drag, i love every second of it and I've met the most amazing people. People that you can honestly see being apart of your life in 40 years time. They truly do feel like real friends.
I didn't expect the first few months of uni to be such an easy ride; Obviously theres the normal, being in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and then there was the hours commute which included the motorway... for a very nervous driver and someone who deals with anxiety you could imagine how troubling this all could have been. But for the whole of September through till the christmas break i never once had a panic attack. I almost felt cured.

So then came January. Overall January has probably been the best month of my life, i've been given opportunities, made decisions that I'm so proud and grateful for. I feel so excited for life and feel like i could be living on cloud nine half the time.... I've got so many exciting things that i can announce in the very near future and can't wait to share with you all. However, about 2 weeks ago  my panic attacks started again, i felt like i completely lost control, its disheartening when you've done so well to manage them and not have them for months. Since then i haven't really been sleeping very well, i feel anxious every minute of the day, with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, worried that  something bad is going to happen. I haven't really liked leaving my house, if i can avoid leaving i will!  I've even woken myself up to having a panic attack in the middle of the night. Part of me felt so angry with myself because everything else is literally going so well, i genuinely love my life at the moment! I had to remind myself that sometimes its okay not to be okay, there doesn't need to be a massive underlying cause or anything disastrous to be happening for you to feel a little shit sometimes. We are all human and sometimes that means dealing with unexplainable emotions! However, i also need take a little bit more time out for me and stay in tune with myself so hopefully in the future i can cope better through bad patches.  Ive also really learnt that part of my anxiety is about achieving perfectionism, I generally worry too much about what people think about me, put way to much pressure on myself to do well. Obviously its important to try your best but i get stressed out or worried at the smallest things! If somethings not perfect I'm very hard on myself!
After seeing Blogger's Maddie Bruce's insta stories yesterday about her therapist making her do one wrong thing in a day, hers was to go to the supermarket wearing her slippers, i felt inspired to really challenge myself to stop being a perfectionist all the time! My first challenge is writing this blog post without re-reading it and uploading it straight up without checking...for all of you too see my terrible grammar and my nonsense ramble! I definitely want to challenge myself every single time i start to feel too pressured by myself to do one wrong thing in a day just to break out of the perfectionist phase. The other thing I'm going to start working on, is giving myself a little bit more me time. Even if its just reading a book in the evening, just something where i can relax and stop thinking about everything i need to do for the whole month! I definitely tend to worry about things that are way in to the future rather then focusing on the 'here and now' as much as i despise that phrase, i really must just focus and revaluate every so often whats important, can i worry about what i'm currently worrying about a bit later on? And if i don't get a certain job done, is it really the end of the world?
If your struggling with anxiety at the moment, remember your not alone and just take time out for you! For anyone who also struggles with perfectionism and decides to do one thing wrong in a day i'd love to hear what you've done.

I hope this blog post helps, and remember its okay not to be okay!
Also if any of you guys have any tips on what helps you, I'd love to hear them!
                Lots of Love Liv x

New year posts usually involve new year resolutions, but this year I felt deflated when thinking about what they might be, resolutions seem to only be made to be broken by the end of January, so I like to set goals. Goals that mostly involve around freelancing and starting my journey of running a successful business; while thinking of these it occurred to me that we don't celebrate one another's successes enough.

Yes of course we can offer celebratory words to support somebody, but in 2018 I want to become more active in supporting those in my local community by supporting their businesses and I think you should too. These are the people that are brave enough, that dream big enough to be able to take the risk on starting from nothing and creating something amazing with their passion, drive, skills and dreams. And that should be celebrated.  So I urge you to support someones business this year, go through your friends list on Facebook, see who's offering what service and book in with them this year; buy the piece of art work they are selling. Even if you do it once, try something new give it go and support one another, and if you've loved the product you buy from them or the service you were given, spend 5 minutes of your day, drop a review on their page, share your experience with others.
Lets support one another. Lets celebrate each others successes. Lets make others dreams of success come true.

I'm going to include some of the businesses that are on my Facebook, and I really love it if you could too! Share this post and tag those businesses on your Facebook friend list, lets get a chain going and lets support the businesses close to you.


1) THE ORGANIC HAIR LOUNGE
Website: https://theorganichairlounge.co.uk

Run by Rebecca Barnes and Georgia Knight.

The most friendly hair salon you'll ever go to. I never liked going to get my hair cut until I went here, they listen to everything you want and still give their best knowledge and advice. They go the extra mile to make sure you leave happy with your hair!
Using the organic colour systems means that you don't feel guilty having your hair coloured, leaving you with healthy gorgeous hair- and it lasts longer then any other colour I've had. The salon is designed with your best intentions in mind and I couldn't recommend enough.


2) FLAWLESS ESSENCE - Hair and Makeup
    Vicky Martin
Website: http://youareflawlessessence.com
Vicky is an exceptional hair and makeup artist. She is highly professional, and offers the most amazing service for Weddings.  Her Brides look absolutely beautiful on their most special day. I have assisted Vicky on a number of weddings and you can see the delight of the Brides and bridal party once they've had their makeup and hair done. So if you want Flawless makeup for your wedding day Vicky is your girl!

2) SARAH BACCUS
Website: http://2boxes.co.uk
Sarah is an award nominated Celebrity nail artist, Makeup artist, skincare specialist and photographer. She offers services such as Nails, HD Brows and photography services plus so much more. She also writes an amazing blog, which I love reading, she works extremely hard and has the coolest job ever.

4) ELFIN (HEALTH, SAFTEY & WELLBEING) Ltd and ELFIN - ADMIN SUPPORT Ltd
 Websites: https://elfinhealthandsafetyandwellbeing.co.uk

Run by Paula Dolton.

Paula is dedicated to help other small to medium companies keep up to date with health and safety issues and legislation and offers risk assessments, health and safety advice, fire safety advice, health and safety employee training and so much more  . As well as providing admin support, copy typing, travel booking , audio typing, invoicing etc. Literally any company can utilise Paula's services, I for one will be PAT testing for my hair equipment!


So here are my four recommendations, and I look forward to being introduced to many more in 2018.
This is the year to support one another's successes! Don't forget to share this post and tag in the businesses on your Facebook and lets start that chain.

                    Thank you for reading, and I wish all of you a happy and healthy year.
                                                                Lots of love,
                                                                    Liv x

Hey guys, today I back with another collaboration with the gorgeous Lydia. Lydia wanted to write about her gorgeous bridesmaid's makeup for her mum's wedding. Lydia's post which you should go check out, I love the look she created on her mum's special day!

Now we are in October I am sure many of you will be soon getting invitations for next year's weddings and its never too early to start thinking about what you will wear! so I thought I'd give you some guidance on a makeup look fit for a wedding guest!





Now I actually love this look for bridesmaids too! When I think of makeup for a wedding, whether its for a bride, the bridesmaids or guests you want the makeup too look as natural and seamless and possible, and the main aim is too look healthy and glowing.

Photos are a big part of any wedding, and obviously you want to look your best in them, and makeup looks best in photos when it looks natural! Now as  a wedding guest the main rule you should follow is to never aim to out shine the bridesmaids or of course the bride! And you never want to drag attention to yourself, especially if your just a guest, therefore, the crazy harsh contouring, the thick foundation, and the dark smokey eye has to go.

Remember as a guest, you are an important part of a wedding, your special, the bride and groom wants you there to be a part of their big day, its not just another 'party' where you can get smashed at. As a guest you should feel honoured that you are there to witness the happy ever after in two people's lives. And so your appearance should fit that, stay away from doing the same heavy makeup you would do on a night out.

Your skin should be glowing and flawless, I used Arbonne's perfecting liquid foundation which has an spf 15 this is a perfect foundation that gives you a flawless finish which is very lightweight.

Tip - don't use an SPF higher then 15 - you don't want any flashback in photos but a minimal amount will still protect you from the sun.

With any foundation to get a flawless finish you should start in the centre of the face and move the foundation outwards, the centre of your face will need the most coverage and it should get thinner outwards to avoid any harsh thick lines and give the appearance of healthy skin.

Then complete with any concealer as and where needed, make sure you then pat the base in with a beauty blender until the makeup is flawless.

My next trick for good, healthy looking skin that looks best in photos, is using my favourite setting powder. Arbonne's setting pretty translucent powder- it has very finely grained shimmer in it, so when the light hits your face it gives the illusion of perfect pore-less skin.

Tip- Translucent powder to set your foundation on long days such as a wedding is perfect, your likely to get hot and a little oily throughout the day, you don't want to add anymore colour to your skin with a powder as it will oxidise and you'll end up looking orange throughout the day.

Finish your skin with a nice healthy looking bronzer, avoid any bronzers with orangey tones as this will pick up on camera. Then finish your skin off with a glowing highlighter!





For eyes stick with natural earthy colours, therefore for my look I used browns, golds and a pale skin coloured shimmer. Using my Urban decay naked 2 Palette. I used shades tease and snake bite in the crease and half baked on the centre of the lid. With Bootycall in the inner corner as a pop of highlight. To add a bit of drama, I used a Charlotte tilbury shadow called The Huntress. Too add a bit of sparkle I used Makeup geeks pigment, which is a clear sparkle. And applied on the centre of the lid.

Tip - Blend eyeshadow to the point where the colour melts away in the skin, it looks seamless in real life and in photos.

I avoided any eyeliner, for me it adds a lot of drama to my eyes and its not the look I was going for! However if you have larger eyes, a tiny bit of liner just to line the lash line is perfect. Avoid any drama of a winged liner for a wedding guest.

For lashes I went for the most natural I could find, I think lashes are really beautiful as long as they are natural and get the right fit for your eyes. You want to open your eyes, avoid anything too overpowering that make your eyes appear smaller.

For lips stick to a nude, I went for a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in Penelope pink, a natural pink gloss will look lovely too.

And of course set your makeup with a setting spray, you want your makeup in top tip condition for long as possible.

I hope this quick post helps you to start to have an idea of how to wear your makeup for your loves ones special day. Remember makeup isn't a mask its a tool to enhance.

            Don't forget to of visit Lydia's blog https://lydiakateashley.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/lyd-wedding-makeup-look-bridesmaid.html and go give her post some love!

                                                     Lots of love,
                                                          Liv.x

Who else love's September? The cold rainy days when you can curl up in front of the fire, watching a movie with a cup of tea in your hand. Or the new autumnal fashion that leaves you feeling comfy in whatever you wear because you can layer up.
Or though I'm not too looking forward to the reality of a rainy day when you actually have to leave your house and get soaked. But with the somewhat disappointing summer I've longed for September to finally come so I can wear thick cosy jumpers while my head is tucked in to a good romance novel.

As I spoke in my previous post, August has always been dreaded month because knowing September was round the corner frightened me, because September is always the start of a new academic year.
But this year I am changing my pessimistic ways and trying something new.

I am going to treat this September as a chapter of new beginnings, basically I am treating it like a new year and have made a list of 'new year resolutions' to make a change to my life going forward. I am making September a positive month and making the new chapter of my life a positive exciting thing rather then a dreaded event that fills me with anxiety.

1) First off is be bold and brave - I am starting my dream uni course later this month which of course I'm excited about, but I am also full of nerves. What if people don't like me ? what if the course isn't what I made it out to be in my head? what if I fail ?  These thoughts have got to go and so I will be filling my brain with positive thoughts to get rid of those doubts. As they are a waste of space.

2) Be more organised/ be tidy -  With balancing a uni course, the travel home there and back each day ( yes I am living at home but i'll go in more detail about this on another post, having a part time job, freelancing, blogging  and running my own business I need to be more organised. There are only 24 hours in the day so I need to organise my time to make sure each hour counts and to prevent any stress meltdowns. 

6) Make time to blog- its my passion and hobby- be consistent. 

3) Treat my business like a business not a hobby. While I feel I am doing well with in my business I am ready to go all the way to the top,  especially as I want to make some changes in my life. This is down to confidence because how many 18 year olds are running their own business? Many are more focuses on getting drunk all the time, which of course is fun but I realise that it takes on average 20 years to be successful. In the business I am currently in it takes 5. If I can be successful in my current business by the time I'm 23, It will largely help me become successful in the makeup industry quicker and hell when you know what you want to do, why would you wait?

4) Live for you. This is going to sound slightly selfish but I think in our generation you can live for pleasing others, and sometimes the things you believe In or what you want to do goes to the back burner. Sometimes its good to say no. 

5) Relax- I for one put way to much pressure on myself and its so counter productive. Setting aside me time and be more laid back about things that can't be changed. 


      I thought these would inspire you and make you decide that September can be a good start for new beginnings and positive changes!

                                                  lots of love and happy Sunday!
                                                                  Liv x

Hey everyone, I've always wanted to write a a post about my anxiety experience but I've never written one because i've feared that it sounds attention seeking, plus its never something I've wanted to advertise to the world. I never wanted to show others I was struggling but now I can write about it. Because this post is about whats made me strong, its about whats inspired and empowered me.  I hope that once you've read this post you gain many things, first and foremost an understanding, second a realisation that everyone has a struggle, after all we are all human no one is perfect and thirdly, that a struggle can be what makes you strong. I hope you realise that whatever struggle you may be going through, no matter what that may be, if you flip that struggle in to something positive it can impact your life more then you will ever know. Lastly I hope you realise that your not alone. If something negative is existing in your life, talk to someone, it will help.

Every year around the month of August I get a little dreaded feeling, because August means September and September means a new academic year, and I'm sure many of you have this dreaded twang in your stomach to. But 4 years ago this dreaded feeling was different, it overwhelmed me to the point where I pushed all my feelings deep down to where I couldn't feel them anymore. I didn't really understand what I was feeling, it wasn't nervousness it wasn't sadness, I couldn't comprehend what it was. I just felt empty. I don't know if this is a bit strange (probably is being me) but I tend to associate parts of my life with colours and whenever I look back on that particular summer all I can see is blackness. It all seemed like a blur, I remember spending hours in bed googling what was wrong with me and taking online tests telling me what was wrong. As the first day back drove nearer and nearer my mental state got worse and worse.

On my first day back to school I remember standing in the English hallway and everything started moving in slow motion, the noises of other students passing by became muffled and the walls came closing in. The building began to spin, people's laughter became louder and louder and on repeat like a broken record. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I can't remember what happened next but knowing me I probably rang my mum, if I did it was the first time I'd spoken to her about it. I kept it all in because I didn't want anyone to worry, I needed to figure out what was going on in my head and what was wrong with me so I could fix it before I tell anyone. Later that day I had my first science lesson and I soon got called out by a pastoral teacher, my my mum had rung school to see if someone could speak to me. As soon as the teacher asked if I was okay I burst in to tears, I didn't know what to say because I didn't know what was wrong.  How could anyone else help if I didn't even know what was wrong?  But after telling him what happened earlier in the day he said he told me that I had been experiencing panic attacks and struggling with anxiety. I didn't understand when he first told me, I had heard people say about anxiety before but I never imagined it to be how it was.  It felt like It was never going to stop. I was also really embarrassed that school was my trigger for my attacks.
The more I found out the more the weight had been lifted off my shoulders I was finally getting support and I could work on getting better.

Now it was NOT an easy ride, It got to the point where I was having panic attacks daily at school, I'd be constantly anxious and its fair to say that it took over. But I hated the thought that others would see me as weak and I completely lost all confidence. The fact that it was the start of GCSE years added more pressure. But I was lucky to have the best support from the best teachers and family, I even went through counselling where I learnt coping mechanisms.

However, it wasn't until a teacher gave a class task of doing a speaking exam in front of the whole class that my anxiety changed me for the better. We could speak about anything our hearts desired, but my teacher told me I didn't have to do it if I didn't want. Now part of me in fact a whole lot of me wanted to do that option but I knew that was the easy option and in the end I did my speech in front of the whole class. I was so passionate about my topic about body confidence and how hating and judging each other needed to stop that I actually kinda enjoyed doing my speech.  Even though I was shaking excessively and my heart couldn't beat any faster. But I did it .  I got an A* for my speech but more importantly I tackled something. Something yes others would find daunting but something I wouldn't ever dream of doing, I couldn't even answer a question in class in front of people let alone stand and talk for 10 minutes.

From that day on I vowed to myself to say yes to every opportunity that others would find daunting too, so that the everyday  things that I myself found overwhelming would become less of a task.  I didn't ever want to feel weak, I didn't ever want anyone to take pity and now I feel more invincible then ever before. I don't take the easy way out and I do things that want to make me bolt In other direction. Sometimes I don't succeed, sometimes it does end badly and yes sometimes I do still say 'no' I'm still wary of events and if I don't want to go I don't. If I have to say the occasional no to a night out then that OKAY!

Every opportunity that I have said yes to has been the best yes's. Hell I'm an 18 year old girl who's achieved her first dream in life, attending her dream course and I'm running my own business. I've grown more then I've ever thought I could and I have my struggle with Anxiety to thank for that. Im so grateful for it. Yes I still have panic attacks, yes I still have bad days and yes I worry about the most random crap ever. But those days are becoming few and far between and I no longer let the anxiety control me.

My point of this post is that whatever you are experiencing, whatever it may be if you decide to make it In to a positive thing you can. I know its not easy, but just by taking that decision of not taking the easy way out. By taking that decision that you are not going to let Anxiety or depression or whatever it may be control you is the first step to making your life better and coping. Its going to be a constant journey but a journey that is worth that struggle because you only live life once, make it count.
I know a lot of people have it a lot worse, and I know a lot of people will read this and think I'm being naive but anxiety is a big part of my story of who I am and I could have dealt with it so differently. I chose resilience and I now know that whatever life throws at me I can handle. I've seen so many tips online about how to cope with anxiety and I think they are utter crap if I'm honest with you. Everyones struggle is so personal to you, someone else tips of how to cope may not work for the next person, everyone has different reasons to why anxiety had reared its ugly head and so there isn't a fix all cure, but what we all do have in common is a decision to let it control us or a decision to try and grab some of that control back.

With hardworking, support, a want for more, optimism and a whole lot of resilience you can do it !

lots of love
Liv x

The main product focus for our looks was the Violet Voss Holy Grail Eyeshadow palette which is available at Beauty Bay for £40 http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/violetvoss/holygraileyeshadowpalette/ . This palette is fabulous for someone who wants a palette where you can create an everyday look and a more out there night time look. Theres also a good range of matte and shimmery eyeshadows. I really enjoyed using it! However, there are a few things to bare in mind before purchasing, the shadow is very very powdery, meaning while its very easy to blend and create a flawless finish, there is so much fall out so I would advise putting on foundation after doing your eye makeup. The colours were very pigmented too, although some of the colours surprised us on application as the reds were more pinky then red as well as this the colour appeared really different of camera then it did in real life, which I've never had before.













                           
                                                                     The Eyes.

1) Using Mac's Paint pot is soft ochre I applied on the lid all the way up to the brow bone, this creates a tacky base for the eyeshadow to stick too.


2) Next I used the shade 'Thanks A Latte' and patted this over the top all over the lid packing the colour on to create a lighter base.

3) On a fluffy blending brush I applied the colour 'Transition' in to the crease, blending as I go, this starts to really create a bit of definition.

4) On a more dense blending brush I then went in with the shade 'Hashtag' and again applied to the crease, on the same brush I blended the two previous colours with the shade ' R u Kitten Me'. Taking a clean fluffy blending brush I blended everything together.

5) Taking a pencil brush I took the shade 'Brownie points' and applied to the outer corner, creating more definition I took the shade 'Teddy Bear' and applied in the outer corner and bringing it through the crease.

6) On a flat brush I took the shade 'Cranberry splash' and patted over the whole of the lid, on the same brush I repeated this process with ' On fleek' and 'glamping'  and this created a nice red colour that merged nicely with the crease colours. Please note this looked a lot more red in person, but the colour didn't pay off on the camera.

7) To create a spotlight effect of highlight I applied 'Cool Beans' and 'Ploof' on a small wet flat brush and patted straight on the centre of the lid.

8) Taking my index finger I applied the colour 'crystal' to my inner corner of my eye to give that pop of colour and really brighten the eyes.

9) Next I took a liquid black eyeliner and followed the lash line creating a slight flick.

10) On a very small liner brush I took 'Glamping' through the lower lash line to add more drama to the eyes.

11) I popped on some eyelure lashes No.083 and coated the rest of my lashes with Arbonne Mascara.



                                                 The rest of the face

Primer: Arbonne
Eyebrows: Loreal  Paris Paradise Pomade in warm blonde
Foundation: Arbonne in Alabaster
Contour : Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour palette.
Concealer: Arbonne in fair
Setting Powder: Arbonne setting pretty translucent powder
Contour powder: Kat Von D Palette
Bronzer: Arbonne
Highlight: ABH glow kit in Moonstone
Lips: Kat Von d Liquid lipstick in Lovesick










                Be sure to check out the amazing look Lydia created, http://lydiakateashley.blogspot.co.uk I loved it.
                                                                                                                                   
Lydia's blog http://lydiakateashley.blogspot.co.uk
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lydiakateashley/

My Instagram https://www.instagram.com/livimarsh22/

                                            Thank you for reading and I hope you guys Enjoyed!
                                                                            Lots of Love
                                                                                   Liv x
 
                       

 

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well.
As many of you know, I am an aspiring makeup artist, at the moment my dream is to work on film sets and photoshoots doing editorial type work. I'm also very determined and so have spent the summer organising a a photoshoot with a few other individuals who are aspiring to make it big in their chosen careers. It's so important for me to work with new people, you always learn something new, and its a skill that is vital in the industry.

In this post I thought I'd share with you all the amazing photos from this collaboration and most importantly the people!





                                                  The Photographer.


                                                   Tay Freeman-Fox

We were very lucky to have Tay shoot our makeup for us, with his artistic eye and incredible knowledge I felt extremely confident that the final pictures were going to amazing. Tay managed to make this shoot look insane and capture some incredible images even when we had to battle with horrendous wind and downpours which was not ideal for the makeup! He also has a wide range of professional equipment meaning we could create diverse images. I recommend Tay highly, he was confident and easy to work with. He listened really well to what we wanted and created something that exceeded our expectations.

Tay's Website: http://www.tayff.com

Tay's Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/tayfreemanfox/

                                                 The Makeup Artists.         
             
                                         Olivia Marshall's Collection

   
                          Models: Martha Armitage
                                        Francesca Woodrow




































































My Instagram:  Makeup account
                        personal account

FaceBook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LivvyandAllthingsBeauty/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Email: oliviamarshallmakeup@gmail.com



                                                Katelyn Buenfeld


                                          Models:Ellie Macleod
                                                       Esme Hammond






















Katelyn's Instagram: Makeup
                                 Personal

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/katelynbuenfeldmakeup

Katelyn's Email: katelynbuenfeldmakeup@gmail.com

Katelyn Buenfeld is also DFMA trained.







I hope you guys like our makeup and the photos. We would love to hear your feedback !
If you would like to work with any of us , please contact us through the provided links.

                                                            I hope you enjoy,
                                                             Lots of Love,
                                                                     Liv x